Got Clinicians?
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine personally, and are not necessarily representative of Texas Health Resources or its subsidiaries.
If you don't, you should. How many credentialed clinicians should a healthy IT department have? We currently have 20 percent -- MDs; RNs; radiology, medical and pharmacy techs; pharmacists; therapists and a smattering of other less common specialties. I'm pushing to raise that figure.
I was recently requested to be the keynote speaker at a Nurses Week celebration at one of our system's hospitals. Being a keynote is an honor in itself. But for me, speaking to the caregivers of our patients put this opportunity over the top. Although my presentation did not rank at what I'd have labeled top-notch, preparing for it proved invaluable. It reinforced my admiration for caregivers, especially nurses. It also reminded me to permeate my IT staff with clinicians to ensure that our labor is accomplished with the caregiver in mind.
I long for the day clinicians are present throughout IT, including technical domains such as networking, data center and other atypical areas. True, they are more dominant in application areas, but why limit the potential? The blending of clinicians with technologists could lead to higher levels of transformation and innovation. Here is our most recent revolutionary venture: We just added a physician employed by our organization who possesses clinical and technical skills and leadership talents, and who will work closely with our CTO. I'm watching eagerly for the effects to unfold over the next few months.
Okay, so you've read the existing articles on how clinicians benefit an IT staff. But once you have them, how do you best position them and your traditional IT staff for success? What are the inherent challenges for clinicians and IT?
Note: Are you aware? When a clinician comes aboard as an IT staff member, it is equivalent to starting a brand new job.
Think back to your own job changes. Could a swim coach apply her swim skills to her new waitress position? What about a massage therapist employing his talent in a paralegal job? Keep in mind this concept as you read the following practical tips on clinicians joining IT as shared by one of our clinicians, Diana Gibson, RN.
Adapting to the office environment
- Cubes vs. nursing station reduces the sense of teamwork
- Use of meeting rooms is equated with loss of casual social interaction
- Taking work home
- Going out to lunch vs. grazing between patient care tasks
Difficulty recognizing accomplishments/results
- Need to understand the bigger picture (see beyond the patient)
- IS systems are configurable with lots of gray areas; reduced workflow focus
- No more rapid results (average patient length of stay is 3 days)
- Used to implementing changes quickly
- Giving up precision and timing on tasks
Loss of familiarity generates stress.
- Learn new tasks, find new resources and create a new employee network
- Learn basic IT software (no more IVs)
- Fight pressure to understand IT on the first day of work
- Assimilate IT language/acronyms
Facilitation skills are not in the typical nursing repertoire
- Scheduling appointments
- Creating agendas
- Taking minutes
- Using a meeting room to solve problems as opposed to on-the-spot interactions
Common conflict areas and issues of concern
- IT staff is generally unaware of clinician's former environment and the required adjustments
- Lack of training for clinicians in IT subjects
- Clinicians are expected to already know what to do
- Downtime scheduling affects issues regarding patient care
- Clinicians have an inherent desire for more testing on software/applications (like testing a drug before giving it to a patient)
Bridging the gap and investing in clinicians encompasses the following areas, according to Gibson:
Preceptor program
- Increase depth of typical IT orientation
- Pair new clinical staff with experienced IT person; identify future clinician leaders
- Document and publish referable guidelines
- Create Web-based training on IT tools
Project management training
- Create PM processes to which nurses/doctors can relate
- Help user/clinician visualize the big picture and break it down into tasks
Professional development
- Develop a facilitation/leadership class
- Provide continuing education credits (CEU)
- Create internal training opportunities specific to clinical IT
- Develop clear development pathways, like a clinical ladder
- Clarify the position's responsibilities
Embrace the significance of melding clinicians with IT. Be more intentional with it, maximize the value, and encourage further adoption. A healthy mix is a key to a high performing health care IT organization.
Got clinicians?